Risk Assessment: An introduction
Preamble
The purpose of a risk assessment is to systematically identify all of the risks associated with a task, activity or process, and put
appropriate controls in place to eliminate or reduce the risks associated with that activity.
This entails breaking the activity down into separate components
and ascertaining all of the risks associated with each component
of the activity. Once the risks are identified you then assess the
level of risk, to determine its priority. According to the level of risk
and hence the priority, you decide on what controls you can put
in place to eliminate or reduce the risk.
Obviously something with a high level of risk is a greater priority
and may need to have more complex controls in place. In
many circumstances you will find that it is impossible to totally
eliminate the risk.
Steps in doing a risk assessment
1. Define the scope
This means setting the boundaries of what you are going to look at. For
example: if you are doing a risk assessment for a field work activity; do
you just want to look at the field work itself, starting from when you
get to the venue and finishing when you leave the venue? Or do you
want to start with getting ready for the field work and include the trip
there etc? Both of these will have very different results. If you do not
define the scope you can get rather inundated and lose track.
Once the scope has been defined break the activity into components,
this can make it easier to identify all hazards. For example:
loading vehicle
travel
unload and set up camp
activity set up
2. Identify the risks
Looking at one component at a time brainstorm all of the hazards
or potential risks and list them in the left-hand column of the risk
assessment table. For example:
loading vehicle
musculoskeletal injury
travel
traffic accident
loss of unsecured equipment
mechanical problems/breakdowns
(including running out of fuel)
getting lost
This must be done for every component identified. There may be
some repetition at this stage, as risks such as musculoskeletal injury
will occur throughout many components of a task, activity or
process. How you act on this risk in each different component may
vary considerably though, so it should still be recorded.
3. Assess the risks
When all the risks have been identified you then have to ascertain the
level of risk associated with each one. To do this you have to determine
the potential consequence of the risk, if it were to occur, and the
potential likelihood of this happening.
[HSW RA.001- 0413]
The degree of risk that remains after you have implemented
controls is referred to as residual risk. If you find that the residual
risks are too high (ie you just cant put controls in place that
reduce the risk), you may have to abandon the activity or think of
other controls to put in place to reduce the risk.
Best results will be achieved if the risk assessment is undertaken
by more than one person, as this enables different views and
perspectives, meaning that you are better able to identify all
of the risks. It also means greater and more varied input on
determining controls.
Consequence is described using the table below
Rating Criteria
Insignificant Minor injury
No or basic first aid required
Minor Medical or paramedical treatment
Up to four days lost time from work
Small amount of local print media coverage (< one week)
Moderate Treatment by hospital EMD or admission to hospital
and/or four or more days lost time from work
Persistent negative local and/or state media coverage
Short term disruption to core activities (days)
Long term disruption to non-core activities (weeks)
Minor breaches is WHS (or related) legislation
Small scale investigation by regulatory bodies (local
branch only)
Any notifiable incident that does not lead to injury, ie does
not require medical or paramedical treatment (eg electrical
incident with no injury)
Uncontrolled non-hazardous chemical spill/release
Major Permanent impairment/disability (unable to return to work)
National and/or international negative media coverage
Medium term disruption to core activities (weeks)
Investigation by regulatory bodies with prosecution,
enforceable undertakings and/or possible criminal charges
or civil suits
Any notifiable incident requiring medical attention
Uncontrolled hazardous chemical spill/release
Catastrophic Fatality/s
Significant damage to reputation
Widespread ongoing negative media coverage
Long term cessation of core activities
Investigation resulting in large legislative breaches and
resultant legal actions, criminal charges, civil suits
Long term extensive environmental damage
Table 1. Consequence
Using Table 1; look at the potential consequence. To ensure that
health and safety risk is looked at in a uniform manner, you must use
the criteria listed in the table. For example, you are aware that there
are heavy items to be loaded, as well as numerous items that need to
be stored on the roof racks. You decide that this could cause an injury
that could potentially lead to hospitalisation. Hence the consequence is
Moderate.
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 Risk Assessment: An introduction

Likelihood is described using the table below

Next, look at likelihood (Table 2). This is quite simply the predicted
Rating Criteria
likelihood of the risk event occurring. This must be determined by using
Rare May only occur in exceptional circumstances
the criteria listed in the table. For example, you may be looking at the
Unlikely The risk event could occur at some time(during a risk of muscular skeletal injury whilst loading the car. You determine
specified period), but it is unlikely that it is Possible that an injury may occur (remember that this is
Possible Might happen at some time; occurrence would not be without any controls in place).
unusual Once you have determined both the consequence and the likelihood
Likely Will probably occur in most circumstances you combine them using the risk matrix (Table 3.) to determine the risk
rating. For example: if you have determined that the consequence of a
Almost certain Is expected to occur in most circumstances musculo skeletal injury is Moderate and the likelihood of this injury
occurring is Possible and the resulting risk rating is Medium.
Table 2. Likelihood

Use the risk matrix to determine the risk rating

Consequence
Insignificant Minor Moderate Major Catastrophic

Almost certain Medium High High Extreme Extreme

Likely Medium Medium High High Extreme

Likelihood

Possible Low Medium Medium High Extreme

Unlikely Low Low Medium Medium High

Rare Low Low Low Medium High

Table 3. Risk matrix

It is important to note here, that an event does not have to result in a It is paramount that the likelihood and consequence tables are used and
major injury or illness to be considered a high priority. A small incident combined using the risk matrix provided to determine the level of risk. This
happening frequently, therefore affecting more people can often be lessens the chance of people using their own biases when interpreting
considered a high priority. risk. This also standardises the way we look at and interpret risk.

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 Risk Assessment: An introduction
4. Decide on control measures
Now that the risk rating has been determined we can then ascertain what
sort of action we need and its priority. Obviously something with a higher
risk rating is of greater priority. This doesnt mean that you do not action
the lower risk ratings, as sometimes these are quick and easy to action
and are good to show progress (get some small wins on the board).
The following diagram depicts the Hierarchy of Control
Hierarchy of Control
1. Eliminate
If not practical then
2. Substitute
If not practical then
3. Engineer
If not practical then
4. Isolate
If not practical then
5. Administer
If not practical then
6. Use Personal Protective Equipment
Until better methods of appropriate controls are available.
Obviously, eliminating the hazard is the best and most effective
way of controlling it. This may entail simply not doing the activity.
Substitution refers to substituting something that you have deemed
to be a risk with something that is a lower risk that achieves the
same or similar thing. The best example of this would be substituting
a hazardous substance with a less hazardous substance.
Engineer. This requires redesign of the workplace to make it safer.
Examples might be; non-slip flooring/paving to prevent slips, trips
and falls; the provision of storage facilities to ensure safe and
effective storage of items; introduction of mechanical lifting aids/
devices; the purchase of low noise tools and machinery.
Sometimes it is easiest to isolate the worker from the hazard. This
is best seen in working with machinery where protective partitions
and guards are put in place to prevent contact with hazardous
moving parts.
We often see administrative controls in the workplace. These consist
of policies, procedures, guidelines, training and the like. These are
necessary practices that attempt to guide people into working safely.
But they are not as effective as the above mentioned controls. The
above controls, especially the first two are designed to remove the
hazard, therefore eliminate the risk. With administrative controls,
the hazard still exists and we are relying on guiding human behavior
[HSW RA.001- 0413]
This naturally leads you into what things/strategies you are going to use
to eliminate or reduce the risk.
When deciding how to reduce risk it is important that you do so in
accordance with the Hierarchy of Control. This stipulates the best
methods for controlling risks:
Good housekeeping practices remove hazards.
Consider the layout or design of the event.
Remove hazards from the workplace.
Replace a process or material with
a less hazardous option.
Redesign the work process or equipment.
Separate the hazard from the worker
Implement policies, procedures and training for people
to follow when working with a hazard.
Provide people with equipment and training (eg high
visibility vest, safety glasses, gloves or footwear).
to reduce the level of risk. This is obviously not completely reliable.
Teaching people to drive safely does not prevent road hazards and
hence road accidents.
The least effective control measure is PPE or personal protective
equipment, such as; gloves, plastic gowns or aprons, safety glasses,
boots etc. This relies on the PPE being available, in good working order,
being used appropriately or just being used at all. Again this does not
eliminate the hazards or risks, so should not be used as the only control
but in conjunction with other controls.
The best way to control any hazard/risk is to eliminate it, but this is not
always feasible. The most effective way to control or lessen the risks
associated with the hazards we have identified is to use a combination of
the above controls. For example:
Have policies, procedures and guidelines, that assign responsibility and
guide people as to the expectation of working safely.
Provide training and supervision; to ensure policies etc. are
communicated and to ensure competency.
Consider health safety and wellbeing in the design and
purchasing stage.
Provide appropriate PPE.
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 Risk Assessment: An introduction
You may plan numerous controls, but find that you cannot bring the
residual risk down to an acceptable level. If this is the case you will
have to decide whether or not you should actually be undertaking
this activity, or maybe brainstorm with some of your colleagues to
determine if there are other controls that you could put in place. You
should then record the controls that you plan to implement on your
risk assessment form. You should document in your risk assessment
form what the residual risk would be after your controls have been
implemented. This residual risk is calculated in the same way as
the initial risk; by determining the likelihood and consequence in
accordance with the tables used earlier and then combining them in
the risk matrix.
At this stage the risk assessment should be authorized. This process
involves another party (usually a department head or cost center
manager) reviewing the risk assessment to ensure that it is appropriate
and that the implementation of controls is approved. For more complex
risk assessments or if numerous stakeholders are involved, it may
be advisable to have the requirement of two people authorizing the
risk assessment.
5. Implement controls
Once you have decided on the controls you are going to put in place and
the risk assessment is authorised, you have to implement these controls.
This may require the addition of further training, procedures, guidelines
etc. to facilitate implementation of some controls.
6. Monitor and Review
The next step is the most important step, as there is no use implementing
controls if you dont monitor and review what you have implemented.
This should be a continual process if it is to be effective. The best planned
control measures may not be as effective as you thought they would be
once put into practice. Or, you may find that by implementing certain
controls, creates other hazards. If this is the case you may have to
implement further controls.

Example Risk Assessment Template

Risk Assessment
Title:

Background:
(brief description of task/activity)

Risk assessment completed by:

(list names of all involved in
completion of risk assessment)

Date completed:

Date of task/activity:

Authorised by:

Level of risk Residual risk

Hazard type Hazard description Controls Responsible person Date implemented by
Consequence Likelihood Risk rating Consequence Likelihood Risk rating

Please sign below indicating that you have read and understand this risk assessment (all who are to work in accordance with this risk assessment should have read and understood it).

Name Signature Date

[HSW RA.002- 0413] Page 1 of 1 CRICOS Provider Number: 01595D

[HSW RA.001- 0413] Page 4 of 6

 Risk Assessment: exAmple

[HSW RA.001- 0413]

the beginning of a risk assessment
Title: Activity/Task/Process being assessed: Field work, to Stradbroke Island: studying cohabitation of spiders in orb weaver webs.
Background: Two students taking ferry to Stradbroke Island, camping at Miora Springs and observing orb weaver webs between Miora Springs and Cylinder Beach.
(brief description of task/activity) Mode of transportation: bicycle. The bikes will be loading onto a car bicycle carrier and then transported to Ferry. The risk assessment will cover the time on the Island only.
Risk assessment completed by:
(list names of all involved in
completion of risk assessment)

Date completed:

Date of task/activity:

Authorised by:

Level of risk Residual risk

Hazard type Hazard description Controls Responsible person Date implemented by
Consequence Likelihood Risk rating Consequence Likelihood Risk rating

Cycling from ferry arrival point to Miora springs

Risk Assessment: An introduction

Vehicle/bike accident Major Possible High Preventative maintenance on bikes Major Unlikely Medium
Bikes loaded to ensure appropriate balance.
Trial ride with loaded bikes prior to
commencing ride.

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Experienced riders
Bike Helmets and high visibility gear worn
while riding
Riding only permitted in daylight hours

Sun burn Moderate Likely High 30+ sunscreen Insignificant Unlikely Low
Sun smart clothing
Majority of riding planned for low risk times
of day
Dehydration Rides of greater than 30 minutes planned for
low risk time of days
Education re hydration requirements
Water easily accessible on bike

Muscle strain Experienced riders

Camp set up

Muscular skeletal injuries Provision of light weight equipment

Manual handling training

Bites, stings, Provision of insect repellent

envenomation First aid kit
First aid training
Emergency plan in place
Communication plan in place

[HSW RA.002- 0413] Page 1 of 2 CRICOS Provider Number: 01595D

 Risk Assessment: exAmple

[HSW RA.001- 0413]

the beginning of a risk assessment
Level of risk Residual risk
Hazard type Hazard description Controls Responsible person Date implemented by
Consequence Likelihood Risk rating Consequence Likelihood Risk rating
Hit by falling objects Set up suitable distance from tall trees

Sunburn

Work in field

Bites, stings, Closed in shoes, long trousers with boot

envenomation protector/sock savers
Insect repellent
etc

Sun burn

Dehydration adequate water taken to each site

Getting lost hand held GPS provided

Risk Assessment: An introduction

emergency plan
in field communication plan

Physical injury First aid kit

First aid trained

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Emergency plan
Communication plan
Experienced bush walkers

Animal contact (wild Liaise with local authorities re occurrences

dogs/pigs) and locations plan accordingly
Communication plan

Muscular skeletal injury

Please sign below indicating that you have read and understand this risk assessment (all who are to work in accordance with this risk assessment should have read and understood it).

Name Signature Date

[HSW RA.002- 0413] Page 2 of 2 CRICOS Provider Number: 01595D